


Trials and Tribulations

by D_f_m22



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-27 00:48:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15013076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D_f_m22/pseuds/D_f_m22
Summary: The Doctor tests Missy in her rehabilitation.Missy breaks.They both learn.





	Trials and Tribulations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RotwangRevived](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RotwangRevived/gifts).



> I've been in a massive rut with my writing and this is just a little piece to get me back into it. 
> 
> Based on wonderful discussions with RotwangRevived (I still owe you a make up piece!) 
> 
> Thoughts appreciated.

The sharp, clean blade shone brightly and elicited a sharp intake of breath from Missy. 

 

The Doctor watched, expression guarded as he placed the knife down on the table and took a seat opposite the Time Lady. Missy’s eyes lingered on its metal edge before she slowly ran her eyes down to the wooden handle. It was only an average knife- the type found in kitchens across the planet she was now forced to call home, but to Missy it felt like a long lost and treasured possession. It had been decades since she had been in touching distance of a weapon. To hold in her hands a device that could cut people like paper and cause beautiful blood to flow freely from their flailing limbs was a dream. The Time Lady felt her hearts beat faster, lips drying and pupils expanding as she appreciated the deadly weapon. 

 

She imagined this was how addicts felt when presented with their poison of choice. 

 

Of course, she was an addict of sorts. 

 

Was this her poison? 

 

“Are you my sponsor?” Missy drawled when she finally manged to lift her eyes away from the blade. She placed her hands in her lap, clasping them together and refusing to give in to the urge to reach for the knife and pierce it through the Doctor. “Or is this like the snake? You know the one I mean. The garden, the naked humans and the apple and the snake and then that lass Pamela opens a box and releases fresh hell.” 

 

“You mean Pandora,” the Doctor replied casually. “And you’re confusing your Greek Mythology with your Biblical stories.” 

 

“I am not,” Missy replied instantly. Her head shot up and her lips curled into a grin. “I’m feigning ignorance on purpose. It’s fun, look at your face when you think I get all my human lore confused. We were in the same classes, Doctor. You’re not the only super-duper intelligent alien from a planet far, far away anymore.” 

 

She was losing her train of thought, rambling about nothing to prevent herself from picking up the knife. 

 

“What are you talking about Missy?”

 

“Temptation,” Missy said brightly. The declaration was meant to clarify her words to herself as much as it was to him. “That’s what this is, isn’t it?” 

 

The Time Lady nodded at the blade in the centre of the table and she stifled an excited gasp as she caught sight of its glistening edge. Oh! The things she could do with a blade that sharp. Her eyes darted from the knife to the Doctor’s hand. It was intentionally placed next to the blade, spread out and vulnerable to attack. The Doctor’s grey eyes regarded her every move, soaking in the obvious adrenaline Missy was experiencing at the sight of the weapon. 

 

“I want to see what you do,” he explained casually. “If you want to see it as temptation, that’s your choice. Every week, I sit here and lecture you on morality and I think that sometimes you’re starting to understand a different point of view, at least on a theoretical level. I worry, though, that you don’t understand it for real. I’m also trying to see things from your perspective. You get a rush, don’t you?” 

 

Missy blinked and her lips curled into a snarl. Her pupils were blown wide- an unintentional reaction born from a deeply embedded desire.

 

“A rush?” Missy laughed breathily. “From what? You bringing that knife into my prison. Nah, don’t think so.”

 

The Doctor shrugged. 

 

“Fine,” he said. “Shall I take it away then?” 

 

As the Time Lord reached for the knife, Missy launched into action. In movements too fast to register, the Time Lady’s hand coiled around handle of the blade and she launched it into the Doctor’s upper arm. 

 

For a moment, the Vault was deadly still. Neither Gallifreyan dared to breathe and both regarded each other with cautiously guarded eyes. 

 

Suddenly, the Doctor let out a sigh. 

 

It was a long-suffering sigh that seemed to be like that a parent would give their troublesome two-year old. Missy looked on in bewilderment as she tried to figure out why the Doctor wasn’t bleeding or writhing in pain. 

 

“I thought so,” the Doctor said grimly as he stood up and pulled the knife out of his arm. As he placed the blade on the table, it flickered a few times before disappearing. “You don’t get it, do you?” 

 

Missy squinted and observed the knife as it disappeared. 

 

“A hologram?” She questioned. “Clever. So, this was a trick?”

 

“I needed to know if you were truly grasping our lessons on violence and self-restraint,” the Doctor explained. “I guess now I know you weren’t.” 

 

“I guess you do,” Missy retorted. “You really are a patronising arse sometimes, aren’t you?”

 

“I’m going now. I’ll be back soon, I hope you start to apply yourself to this rehabilitation soon.” 

 

Missy scoffed. 

 

“Proving my point with every word you say,” she tutted. “What’s next- punishments when I make a mistake? Electric shock therapy or maybe just a good old-fashioned spanking. The power, dear, how clear it is that you love it. I guess you are more like me- and our people than you’d like to admit.” 

 

Anyone else would have thought Missy was teasing him- being deliberately provocative and trying to make him uncomfortable. The Doctor, however, heard the fear in her voice. It was clear that the Time Lady was worried- scared even- that her rehab would revert into the torture chambers with which she was more accustomed. Without hesitation, the Doctor turned on his heel and approached Missy. Cupping her cheek, he looked into her eyes seriously and shook his head.

 

“Never, Missy. I am never going to hurt you and you have my word on that,” he promised. “I will never hurt you in anyway. I just hope that one day, you’re not going to disappoint me, and you will understand what our lessons are working towards.” 

 

The Time Lady recoiled away from the Doctor, his words and disappointed gaze cutting far deeper than the fake knife. Before she had time to control her emotions, the Doctor had gone. 

 

Missy was alone in the Vault. 

 

Alone with a whole load of new confusions. 

 

XXXXXXXX

 

The Doctor tried the knife test three more times. 

The first time, Missy tries to stab him again. 

The second time, she stabs herself. 

The third time, she cried and screamed at him until he took it away. 

XXXXXXXX

The Doctor soon discovered that programming a new software into his tablet could work as a viable way to test Missy’s understanding of her rehabilitation. In a game like way, the software presented options for the Time Lady to choose. 

At first, Missy responded well to the new tactic- particularly enjoying the reward coins she collected for each ‘correct’ choice. 

 

Soon, however, the Doctor’s burning criticism became too much. 

 

“I can’t do it,” she asserted. “I’m never going to live up to your stupid little expectations so I’m not going to try.” 

 

“Missy,” the Doctor pleaded. “Please—” 

 

“I said no, Doctor. Now tell me, is free will not in keeping with your morals?” 

 

XXXXXXXX

They try several other tactics, but none really take. All attempts see Missy eventually grow wary of the Doctor’s disappointment. The weight of guilt and pressure was crushing and Missy was breaking under it. 

 

Not that the Doctor noticed. 

 

He didn’t notice until…

XXXXXXXX

 

Until he found her, ten days after his last visit to the Vault and in the same position as when he had left. 

 

Sat in the darkened room, her books were unopened and eyes vacant. She didn’t even tilt her head to acknowledge his arrival. Walking forward warily, the Doctor winced at the unsavoury stench. 

 

“Missy?” He questioned. 

 

No response. 

 

“Missy, what’s wrong?”

 

Still no response. 

 

Carefully, the Doctor stepped forward and rested his hand on Missy’s shoulder. It seemed to bring the Time Lady to life slightly and she blinked back at the Doctor blindly. 

 

“I didn’t want to do something wrong,” Missy explained. “So, I just stayed here until you got back. Then, I couldn’t make any mistakes.”

 

The Doctor looked at Missy in disgust, causing the Time Lady to shirk away. That look of disappointment was back- she’d failed again. The Doctor, found his hand clenching around the bottom of his jacket as annoyance and guilt gnawed at his conscience. 

 

“This isn’t good, Missy” the Doctor muttered as he ran a hand over his rapidly aging face. “This really isn’t good.” 

 

Missy’s eyes shot open and she shook her head. With trembling fingers, she grasped her pyjama bottoms and dug her fingers into her skin. 

 

“I…I didn’t want to be bad. I was trying to be good like you want me to be.” 

 

The Doctor’s brow furrowed, and he covered her trembling hand with his still one. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he sighed honestly. “I’m so sorry.” 

 

“Have you been bad now? Doctor, I don’t get it.” 

 

Running a hand over his face, the Doctor stood up and eased Missy up- urging her to follow him into the bathroom. 

 

“You don’t need to understand it right now. No more tests, I promise. We’re going to have a bath and then you’re going to have a bite to eat and you’re going to sleep.”

 

“Will that make you happy?” Missy asked. “I want you to be happy with me.” 

 

The Doctor turned on his heels, squeezing Missy’ s hands reassuringly. 

 

“I know how hard you’re trying and that makes me happy. This,” he paused and nodded his head at Missy’s form. “This isn’t good. You’re   
hurting yourself.” 

 

Missy looked back at him with utter bewilderment. Exhaustion seemed to take over and her face contorted into a mixture of pain and frustration. 

 

“I’m so confused.”

 

“I know you are,” the Doctor consoled. “Come here,” he guided as he pulled Missy into his arms and placed a kiss on her forehead. “A nice warm bath is in order, Mistress.” 

 

XXXXXXXX

Later, refreshed and fed, the two Time Lords rested together on the bed. Missy, half asleep, lounged against the Doctor’s chest and listened to his steadying heartbeat. 

 

“I,” Missy yawned, stretching against the Doctor. “I want to be good.”

 

“I know,” the Doctor placated. “And I know you’re trying. No more tests though Missy, I didn’t realise how much they were hurting you.”

 

“I…” Missy continued, turning into the Doctor and hiding her face away. “I’m..I”

 

“You’re exhausted and you’re going to go to sleep.” 

 

“Mhmm,” Missy mumbled. “I don’t…”

 

“Go to sleep,” the Doctor advised. “Go to sleep and I’ll be right here when you wake up.” 

 

Missy’s breathing levelled out at the words and she fell into a light slumber, softly snoring. The Doctor ran a hand through her hair and hummed softly.

 

“No more tests,” he affirmed to the now silent room. “You’re doing so well, everyday you’re getting better and I know you don’t see it but you’re going to be fantastic. We’re going to go travel the stars, my Missy.” 

 

“Doctor,” Missy mumbled sleepily. “Doctor, you silly sausage, I can’t sleep while you’re being soppy. Go to sleep.”

 

The Doctor chuckled quietly, closing his eyes and joining Missy in sleep. 

 

“We’ll learn together.”


End file.
